Children of Gaza
Children and peace go together. They
are often forgotten in wars. They need to be heard because they
also are concerned by peace. Goeorges Vimard who is living in
Gaza wants to testify of their despair. We thank him again (JG)
One day, on the way to school, nothing about war, not a single word. But the next day it is war against the Palestinians. It is as if the ground was rising up and was running. Suddenly the rockets started to fire, like rain on a summer's day. Sami, 9 year old.
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We are at war and countries help us only in words. I want to send a letter to every child in the world to prove to him that we hope for a change. Boutros, 11 year old. |
I am a child but I know what is going on in the world. Here the army is killing us without making a difference between men, women and children. Tawfiq, 8 year old.
Don't think that I am afraid to die, I have great faith in God and that faith never leaves me. I am sure that there are many like me, it allows us to accomplish courageous actions. Israeli can bombard us as they want, they can kill us but they cannot get our faith. Issa, 10 year old.
- Every body hopes for peace, especially the Palestinians
who wish and dream peace between them and with Israel. Laila,
15 year old.
- I want to hear good music, not the missiles and the cries of the wounded. I want to play in the garden with friends. Rana 14 year old.
- Christians wonder why other Christian countries such as Great Britain or the United States do not support them. Moslems wonder why nothing comes out from an Arab summit. Who is supporting us? Ala 12 year old.
- The only weapon that is left to bring peace is to keep hope and humbly pray to God to give us enough dignity to live. Rami, 16 year old.
Let Saddam Hussein send his missiles and destroy Israel!- Karim, 8 year old.
- The peace we look for has to come first from our heart. As young ones we can make a difference and change the present conflict into an historical reconciliation by an understanding of the needs of every one. Haneen, 16 year old.
- My father has to go to Jerusalem to work but the Jews don't allow him. They want us without jobs, without food, they want our deaths.
- Mahmoud 12 year old.
- The Israeli policy is to make us afraid and to destroy the will of our people. Instead it strengthens our determination to search for liberty. Saher, 15 year old.
- Palestine is an important country because it is at the center of the Arab world. Jesus was born there and it is the place of El Asra and El Miraj of the Prophet Mohamed. Esreen, 14 year old.
- We are not afraid of Israel because we are right. It is our land, the land of our father and grand father. We will come in again. John 9 year old.
- Antifada is a sacred word for the Palestinians, it means a lot for every Palestinians. Let us remind you of all the misery we have suffered and the blood spilled to regain our land.
We were waiting with hope, to get Jerusalem through the negotiation, but nothing. We will do every thing to get back Jerusalem.- Kareem, 16 year old.
- Why have our hopes for a better future come to nothing? Why has the spring sun rise disappeared under the winter snow? Why are innocent children dying? I am waiting for answers and not for the silence of the world about such crimes. Mera, 17 year old.
- Finally during the battle we have to keep in mind the word: "humanity". Even if our enemy has forgotten it and if he does what he can to make the rest of the world forget. We ask for international protection to save our children and the people. Elias, 15 year old.
- I am Palestinian. We are people living on a small territory. We want to live in peace without curfews and blockades and to have enough hours of sleep with happy dreams and no nightmares, to play and learn at school. Nour, 12 year old.
Christmas 2000, Bethlehem is in the middle of a war. Missiles in the Palestinian sky are threatening children. In the besieged territories hundreds of tombs are being freshly dug when at the same time Jewish settlers with the army apply their policy of burnt ground.
Written on the walls of the city is:" Lann nerka! We will not give in." Christmas is for the glory of God and also for humanity, then mankind will not give in because one time God came down to earth giving back to them their dignity.
People who send deadly weapons cannot see the glory of God neither those who are devastating lands and the soul of the people.
Why do men, women and children raise up when they are deeply humiliated?
Who gives them this sense of humanity?
A Child was born during the darkness of a military occupation, 2000 years ago, in Bethlehem. A sign that God loves mankind.
At home, on Christmas Eve, welcome the voice of these children living at Bethlehem, Beit Jala, and Sahour, at Gaza, at Jerusalem and at Ramallah. In the middle of their anger and their fear, listen to their confidence for a new world.
With no more threat coming from the sky, the Angel of God can spread its tenderness and wings above humanity. Olive shoots can spring to life every where.
Georges Vimard
